Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook was accused by his ex-girlfriend Sgt. 1st Class Gracelyn Trimble of holding her hostage and abusing her physically a year ago. She is pressing charges against him of “giving me a concussion, leaving a scar on my face and taking me through hell” in a lawsuit filed Tuesday, per the Star Tribune of Minneapolis.
According to the reports: Trimble flew to Minnesota on Nov. 19 to break up with Cook and collect her belongings. She claims she entered through his garage and grabbed a mace she stored in his Inver Grove Heights home on the way in, which she attempted to use on Cook but was overpowered by him, with the irritant getting in her eyes.
Allegedly he became angry while gathering her stuff: Cook “grabbed her arm, and slung her whole body over the couch, slamming her face into the coffee table and causing her lower forehead and the bridge of her nose to bust open.” She also claims that the running back assaulted her again when she went to shower, and threatened her with a broomstick, sending her into the bedroom where she grabbed his gun and called a friend.
After that, she says, in the morning, he covered her injuries with a sweatshirt, sunglasses and face mask, and took her to the airport. A few days later, on November 25, she had medical attention in Florida, where she said she had been in an ATV accident and was told she had a concussion.
Trimble’s filing also included a text message allegedly from Cook saying, “I know what I did can be rewind…If you wanna go to the police I’ll respect that I’ll take my punishment for what I did!”
On the other side, Cook’s story has a different point of view as he claims Trimble entered his home without his consent, punched and maced him, then held him hostage at gunpoint. So her injuries came allegedly as Cook was defending a house-guest.
Cook’s lawyer also claims that she has been trying to extort money from the star running back. Of course, that would need to be proven for him, just like she needs to prove her claims as well.
Cook’s lawyer, David Valentini says that Cook was the one who was abused and Trimble is attempting to extort him: “While Mr. Cook and Sgt. Trimble had a short-term relationship over several months, she became emotionally abusive, physically aggressive and confrontational, and repeatedly attempted to provoke Mr. Cook,” He also added: “We are confident a full disclosure of the facts will show Mr. Cook did nothing wrong and any injury Sgt. Trimble may have sustained that evening was the result of Sgt. Trimble’s own unlawful conduct.”
They eventually broke up for good in May, while neither side filed a lawsuit until now, as they were unable to come to a settlement.